Can the Caucasian Shepherd dog kill a wolf?

One of the most spectacular facts by which the strong Caucasian Shepherd dog is renowned is it courage and instinct that allows him to fight wild beasts and even to kill wolves. Well, it is important for us to look a bit at how nature goes and understand this “wolf killer” role as it really is. For this, we will take you on a few steps in understanding the evolution of this breed, how it gained its reputation and this way maybe you will get your answer for the question “Can a Caucasian shepherd kill a wolf?”

The Caucasian and its role of protecting sheep

We should understand that by nature, wolves and dogs come from the same ancestors, only that wolves have remained wild and dogs have been bred and trained to serve the humans. The huge variety of dog breeds satisfies different needs and different cultures, so each breed has its own unique set of coordinates.

For the Caucasian Russian dog, protection against wolves and other wild animals is part of this set of breeding characteristics. The purpose of the breeding of these massive dogs was the one of accompanying the shepherds in guarding the flocks of sheep, so they keep these traits no matter if they are not used for guarding sheep anymore.

Watching this documentary you will be able to see the Caucasian Ovcharka, as it is called in the Russian territories, in its natural environment, alongside sheep. You can understand more about the behavior of this dog and its reputation of being a wolf killer by observing how they do their job guarding and what they are taught to do by the shepherds. 

Wolves are maybe the number one danger for sheep, so having a few Caucasian Shepherd dogs guarding the flock is essential for keeping the wolves away. 

Wolves and how they function

Wolves are very skilled and very cautious animals, they will not approach any possible prey if they sense danger around, so getting into an actual fight with the dogs is quite a rare thing. Wolves live together in families or packs and they have a specific territory that they keep, without trespassing the territories of other packs. They will hunt for sheep or other animals when the food on their territory is scarce, so this doesn’t happen very often during one season.

When they come to hunt, however, they come alone and pay very close attention to the possible threats that lie around. A wolf will not venture in a territory which is guarded by several guard dogs, as their barking is enough to keep him away and guarding his life. 

If a wolf, however, enters the territory unnoticed and several Caucasian Shepherds are guarding the flock, at the moment of confrontation all animals will fight fiercely until the end. The dogs will not follow the wolf into the wild if it escapes, but will settle for chasing it away from their territory. 

Caucasian Shepherd vs Wolf

When talking about a confrontation dog vs wolf, it is hard to tell if a Caucasian Shepherd would win. The wolf has a bite which is two times more powerful than the bite of the shepherd dog and its aggressive instincts are trained strongly in the wild. Although a Caucasian Shepherd is more massive and heavier than a wolf, the agility and power of the wolf’s bite are hard to beat.

However, it must be taken into consideration that shepherds never keep just one dog to guard a flock of sheep, so the Caucasian Shepherds always work in teams. When there are more dogs and they catch a wolf, of course that the chances of the wild animal are almost null. 

If you own a Caucasian Shepherd and you live in the mountainside, in areas where animals sometimes come down and try to get food from villages, your guard dog will surely scare them off with its loud and heavy barking. Your Russian guard dog will also stand strong in a fight with a wolf or other wild animal if it is really the case for such a thing, but the chances are very low for that to happen.